Houston Rallies is only one of the great resources available out there for entrepreneurs and small business owners in our region. See below for our current “top picks” of the valuable sites, resources, and available assistance for small business owners. We will provide regular updates to this page as new information, programs, and resources become available.

Click on the links below for more information.

SBA Small Business Guidance & Loan Resources
From information on funding options to specific guidance for businesses and employers, the Small Business Administration has many valuable resources for small business owners.

University of Houston Texas Gulf Coast Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network
Business advisors and staff at the University of Houston Texas Gulf Coast Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network offer support for small business owners who are facing challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a great site for timely information, processes, and available grants and resources.

City of Houston Office of Business Opportunities
The page on the City of Houston website site provides access to a number of COVID-19 related resources for small businesses from unique funding opportunities, and loans and grants to special emergency assistance initiatives for businesses in the hospitality industry.

Greater Houston Partnership’s Houston Business Recovery Center (GHBRC)
This business-led recovery program connects businesses to available recovery resources with a robust listing of available federal programs and opportunities to help local companies’ weather and recover from this time of crisis.

Houston Arts Alliance
This local arts and culture organization provides a handy portal featuring a list of grants and relief programs available to a wide variety of artists, including writers, musicians, and actors. Some have application deadlines, but many are ongoing and you can apply at any time.

SouthernSmoke
This nonprofit was created by Houston restauranteur, Chris Shepherd to raise funds for charitable purposes, principally for support and assistance for those in the food and beverage community and their suppliers. The Foundation is now funding out-of-work employees from the food and beverage industry through an application process. The money can go toward medical bills, family support, healthcare, or any other pressing needs.

Hello Alice COVID-19 Business Center
Hello Allice recently announced its grant program that will focus on funding minority-founded startups and created this resource free for Houston-area entrepreneurs. Alice is offering emergency grants to businesses affected by COVID-19 and has also gathered other resources like mental health information, tips for running a remote workforce, and more.

Greater Houston Partnership’s COVID-19 Resource Page
This page on the GHP website provides you with up-to-date information on how Houston is specifically responding to the pandemic. It includes everything from what the Stay Home-Work Safe order entails, strategies and tools for small businesses, public health resources and more.

Hello Alice – Support your team through the Coronavirus Pandemic
Many of the guidelines shared about COVID-19 are great for big business, but hard to implement for small businesses with limited resources. This guide outlines the basic around keeping your employees and business healthy and is updated daily. This site also contains great information about operating and managing a remote team and other useful information for small business owners.

Hello Alice COVID-19 Business Center
You’ll find useful guides here to help you create an online presence, create your elevator pitch, and communicate your value proposition.

Chron.com Local Business Listing
Create a free business listing in the Open For Business directory featured on Houston’s #1 local website – Chron.com.

Marketing During a Crisis Webinar (Borrell Associates & Houston Chronicle Media Group)
An ongoing study that measures the mood of small business owners, as well as consumers, and how they have responded to the changes since March. This webinar reviews the April results and provides a trend on consumer and business confidence with a forecast to the future. Dates: Tuesday, May 19 @ 2:30pm CT and Wednesday, May 20 @ 2:30pm CT.